Saturday, May 22, 2010

Capitalism's Champion? Al Capone, Of Course!

We asked: Who extolled capitalism as "a great system if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it."?
Most of you (36%) thought is was Andrew Carnegie. You were wrong.
Then there were 18% of you who thought it was Teddy Roosevelt. You were wrong as well.
Some of you thought it was Barnum (9%) or Rockefeller (4%) and you were also wrong.
Fortunately, no one picked Martha Stewart as that would have been wrong as well.
The man who extolled the virtues of capitalism was none other than gangster Al Capone. Thirty one percent of you had the correct answer!
And Capone's quote and his keen capitalistic instincts are details in Lucy Moore's fine book Anything Goes: A Biography Of The Roaring Twenties.
I recently has a great time reading this book. It's a rollicking journey through one of the liveliest and most turbulent periods of modern history. I recommend it.
BTW: If you're wondering why the numbers above don't add up to 100% it's because they have been conveniently rounded off. Thanks for participating in our quiz, everybody!

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